Charles Williams

1. American soul singer who lived in Finland for a few years in the 1970s. Notable for 'Standing in the Way (3:40)' found on Scandinavian Funk Experience (2002). Also see his lastfm album here http://www.last.fm/music/Charles+Williams/If+We+Try & more info here http://charleswilliamsband.wordpress.com/charles-williams-and-johnny-otis/ 2. Charles Williams (born Isaac Cozerbreit on May 8, 1893 in London, died September 7, 1978 in Findon Valley, Worthing, West Sussex, England) was a British composer and conductor, contributing music to over 50 films. While his career ran from 1934 through 1968, much of his work came to the big screen as stock music and was therefore uncredited. Charles Williams originally played as a freelance violinist in theatres, cinemas and symphony orchestras. He studied composition with Norman O'Neill at the Royal Academy of Music. In 1933, he went to Gaumont British Films as composer and stayed there until 1939. He composed for many British films and radio shows. After the end of World War II, he became the conductor of the new Queen's Hall Light Orchestra. Later, he formed his Concert Orchestra. He composed many orchestral pieces and marches, which were recorded in the "Mood Music" category of Light Music. He wrote the signature tunes of the radio programme "The Voice of London" and also Devil's Gallop, the theme tune to the radio serial Dick Barton. He also composed the popular piano concerto pastiche, The Dream of Olwen, for the film While I Live. An abridged version of his Majestic Fanfare (1935) was used by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for many years as the signature tune for its radio and television news broadcasts. A version as re-orchestrated by Richard Mills in 1988 is still used for radio news broadcasts. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.